London house prices: First-time buyers need household income of nearly £100k to buy May 3, 2023 Londoners’ desire to get on the property ladder has helped fuel the housing market in the capital, despite households now needing an extra £12k in income to be able to afford their own place. Figures released by Zoopla, show that in April house price growth in London rose by 0.5 per cent, as demand and [...]
Explainer: Rishi Sunak eyes a revival of Help to Buy May 2, 2023 Just over a month ago, we were reporting the phasing out of Help to Buy, which was closed to new entrants last year. Now, Rishi Sunak is considering relaunching the policy. Talking of u-turns. The scheme was introduced in 2013 by George Osborne to help first-time buyers get onto the housing ladder. It offered lower [...]
Oil markets tumble as hawkish Fed and sluggish Chinese growth drive down prices May 2, 2023 Oil prices dropped heavily today, amid growing expectations of interest rate hikes from the US Federal Reserve and European Central Bank.
Tesco, Sainsbury’s face calls for investigation into ‘profiteering’ as prices soar May 2, 2023 An inquiry should be commissioned into whether supermarkets have been “profiteering” during the cost-of-living crisis, the Liberal Democrats have said. Party leader Sir Ed Davey is calling for the competition watchdog to start an investigation into whether food retailers put up the price of goods by more than was necessary to cover the cost of [...]
Eurozone core inflation falls, opening door to smaller ECB interest rate hike May 2, 2023 Inflation is receding faster than expected in Europe, raising the prospect of the bloc’s central bank slowing the pace of its interest rates hike this week, new figures out today reveal. The rate of underlying price increases – known as core inflation – in the group of 20 countries using the euro thinned to 5.6 [...]
Bitcoin slips below $28,000 as investors keep a wary eye on US inflation data May 2, 2023 Bitcoin is trading a shade under $28k this morning, down 2% from yesterday as it continues to slowly drift from the key level of $30k.
UK factories shed workers as higher costs and weaker spending pound finances May 2, 2023 British factories are shedding workers after being pounded by soaring costs and weaker spending from customers, according to a closely-watched survey. S&P Global and the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply’s (CIPS) final purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the UK manufacturing sector came in at 47.8 points last month, above an earlier reading of 46.6 [...]
Greene King revenues top £2bn as pub chain hopes inflation fears will be drowned out by a boozy Coronation May 2, 2023 Greene King said revenues continued to soar however the chief executive of the group warned that inflation and the cost of living crisis would prove a “tough backdrop” for the hospitality sector. The pub operator, which has over 2,000 sites across the UK, reported a revenue hike of 62.2 per cent for the 52 weeks [...]
House prices rise for the first time in seven months but analysts still expect a rough ride May 2, 2023 The housing market showed “tentative” signs of recovery in April as the price of homes rose 0.5 per cent during the month, however prices remain four per cent below their August 2022 peak. The Nationwide house price index showed that the annual rate of house price growth improved to -2.7 per cent from -3.1 per [...]
Take your seat for the Bank of England, Federal Reserve and central banks’ final act May 2, 2023 This is the final act in central banks’ aggressive interest rate hike cycle. Well, so say most analysts at the moment.